Meaning
by Sode no Shirayuki1411
Summary: Estarossa and Zeldris after fighting Escanor, nothing seems to end well for them. Implied character death.


**SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 185! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT FAR LEAVE NOW PLEASE! Other than that, enjoy!**

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Even when Estarossa awoke his world remained black.

It took him a second to realize that the darkness was not his eyesight but a black wing made of hellfire draped over his body.

The wing swirled and disappeared as its owner lacked the strength to keep it materialized. Slowly, painfully, Estarossa turned his head to the right. His younger brother Zeldris lay about two arms-lengths away, his face beaten and bloody, his eyes shut. What were they doing here?

Then Estarossa began to remember, he'd been fighting that… _thing,_ Escanor. He'd claimed to be human but Estarossa wasn't sure he could believe that. He'd been outmatched, Estarossa wasn't too proud to admit that now, he remembered the blow swinging towards him, Zeldris's voice screaming at him to get away.

He remembered his last thought before the attack hit was that surely his younger brother wouldn't be stupid enough to try and help him.

Then the blow had connected… just as a pair of small hands had grabbed him, keeping him upright, then the attack had sent them both flying, a small body had put itself between him and the overwhelming heat, a pair of black wings had wrapped around him, attempting to shield him. Zeldris really had been that stupid.

No. Not stupid, desperate. Protective, caring... loving. Estarossa would have done the same for Meliodas once. Back in the day any attack that could've killed his older brother would've _destroyed_ Estarossa, but that wouldn't have stopped him. He would have done anything to protect Meliodas, he loved him more than anyone.

And Zeldris felt the same about his own older brother. Estarossa had never even noticed. He'd been so caught up in the fact that he'd lost one of his brothers that he failed to remember he still had the other.

And now Zeldris was lying on the ground beside him, still, unmoving.

Estarossa tried to move towards him and found that he couldn't move his lower body, glancing down he wasn't sure he even had a lower body anymore, Zeldris had protected most of his hearts but Estarossa wasn't so sure about the rest of him, he was in more pain than he'd even been in but due to his training under his father and his species, demons did not react to pain the same ways as humans, he was able to push past it. His baby brother was what was important, Zeldris was unconscious, Zeldris needed his help.

Using his arms, his right one mostly gone, Estarossa managed to roll onto his front and push himself up slightly, his vision went black again for a second and even when it returned his surroundings still swam, Estarossa was seconds from passing out again but he needed to get to his brother.

That was when his vantage point revealed what he couldn't see lying on the ground.

There was a hole where his younger brother's chest should be, what was left of his arms and legs held on by scraps of flesh at the sides.

Estarossa's vision greyed and he slumped forwards, landing on his face, he didn't care.

"Zeldris?" His voice was a horse whisper he himself could barely hear, he swallowed painfully, his vision coming back slightly and tried again, mounting panic inside of him, "Zeldris?! Hey?! _Zeldris!"_

His brother didn't answer him, didn't even move.

Feeling sick, on the brink of collapse, Estarossa reached out until his remaining hand found Zeldris's –miraculously still whole- one lying nearby and squeezed it.

Zeldris's skin was icy cold.

Estarossa rubbed his thumb soothingly over the back of his brother's hand, trying to bring some warmth back into it, if he had the strength Estarossa would've smiled bitterly to himself, of course _now_ was the only time he acted caring and protective the way an older brother should.

"Hey, come on," he tried to coax his dark-haired sibling, "Fraudrin and the others will find us soon. Derieri's going to be angry if she has to carry your heavy ass out of here." He squeezed his brother's hand, "Gloxinia can fix this," he almost pleaded, he had just killed Meliodas, a feat he spent most of his life believing was impossible, he couldn't lose Zeldris here like this now. Escanor was only human wasn't he?! At least _one_ of Zeldris's hearts had to have survived!

"Don't do this to me," he rasped, "I'm selfish. I can't lose you too. You're the only family I have left." His heart, not one of the beating organs in his chest but the emotional thing he'd believed had died when Meliodas betrayed them, wrenched as he admitted the truth, "you don't deserve this. _And my world doesn't have meaning if you're not in it!"  
_

He gripped his brother's hand so tightly he felt his own bones creak, "we'll be okay," he promised, "I'm your older brother, I can promise you things like that. You'll be okay. I promise."

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 **Estarossa's shown no signs of caring about what happens to Zeldris but I like to think he does. I guess we'll see. Also, I don't believe that's the last we've seen of these two, they seem to be important, being Meliodas's brothers and the strongest two Commandments but I don't pretend to understand how Nakaba Suzuki's mind works. The Ten Commandments seem to be dropping like flies, don't they?  
Anyway, hope you enjoyed guys, bye!**


End file.
